The Arizona Cardinals failed Marvin Harrison Jr. And maybe they did him a favor, too.
As tortured and tumultuous as the wide receiver’s modest 33-game tenure had been at times, his days with the Cardinals came to an end far too quickly. It didn’t have to be this way, and although it’s difficult to blame Harrison for really any of it, a change of scenery might be good.
The Cardinals couldn’t unlock the talents within the former No. 4 overall pick, in part because they refused to fully use him under new coach and offensive play caller Mike LaFleur, and now they’re moving on from him just four games into his third NFL season.
What a bizarre ending.
The news came down on Saturday, Oct. 10, when it was reported Harrison would be inactive for Arizona’s
Week 5 home game against the Detroit Lions because the Cardinals were finalizing a deal to trade him.
Details and terms of the trade are yet to be determined, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter and the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, and nothing will be completed until the conclusion of Sunday’s games, they added.
Regardless, Harrison’s career with the Cardinals is over before it really got a chance to begin.
He was decent as a rookie, finishing with 62 receptions for 885 yards and eight touchdowns. His second year was marred by injuries and inconsistencies – along with a quarterback change from Kyler Murray to Jacoby Brissett. He never was able to get it going this season, catching just five passes for 85 yards and one touchdown on just 12 targets. That’s barely enough looks to get noticed, and yet, here we are.
And here’s the question: Can the Cardinals absolutely be sure of what they had in Marvin Harrison Jr.?
The Cardinals can’t even be sure who their starting quarterback will be next fall, and who’s to say their next QB wouldn’t have been able to get Harrison untracked and help turn him into the game-changing asset they thought he would be when they drafted him out of Ohio State?
Maybe Harrison, 24, would have performed better catching passes from rookie quarterback Carson Beck, whom the Cardinals should – and will – eventually turn to as the starter at some point this season.
Even if they stick with Brissett for the foreseeable future, wouldn’t it have been smarter to feed Harrison the football more often, even if it was just to showcase him ahead of the Nov. 10 trade deadline?
Maybe Harrison forced their hand. After previously representing himself the past two years, he hired two agents from Athletes First and perhaps he told the team he wanted out, that it was just time to move forward elsewhere.
However it played out, Harrison’s rocky era in Arizona is history. It ended too soon and too sloppily. And with the way this season appears to be trending for the Valley’s fading NFL franchise, he likely won’t be the only domino that topples.
Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic .Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. on Roc and Manuch with Jimmy B on ESPN 620 (KTAR-AM) and every Thursday on the Doug Franz Unplugged podcast via Apple or Spotify.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cardinals failed Marvin Harrison Jr., maybe did him a favor | Opinion
